Articles by ASSEL SATUBALDINA

ASTANA – Astana Opera House will host “Astana Is My Beautiful Dream,” a Sept. 8 concert featuring the performance of prominent Kazakh opera singer and Astana Opera leading soloist Maira Mukhamedkyzy. The concert is devoted to the capital’s 20th anniversary. The audience will have the chance to enjoy a beautiful evening of folk songs and…

ASTANA – Approximately 1.385 million Kazakh citizens have updated their employment status since the beginning of 2018, when the figure was 2.7 million, said Minister of Labour and Social Protection Madina Abylkassymova during an Aug. 28 government meeting. Updating the status of self-employed and informally employed citizens and bringing the unemployed into a formal labour…

ASTANA – Despite rainy weather, the open-air Ethno Fest opened its doors Aug. 25-26 in Astana, welcoming people to get closer to their national culture and traditions. Head of the Central Kazakhstan Association for Tourism, Restaurant and Hotel Business Maya Agadilova said the goal is to popularise Kazakh national traditions that have been forgotten. “For the…

ASTANA – The city, abound in beautiful parks and squares including many which appeared this year to mark the capital’s 20th anniversary, will get a new square honouring Polish poet Gustaw Zielinski. The square will be located at the intersection of Kenessary Avenue and Yanushkevich Street on the right bank of the Yessil River, a…

ASTANA – Starting in 2019, Kazakh citizens will be able to complete insurance contracts online, Kazakh National Bank press service reported recently. The changes in the country’s legislation adopted July 2 allow online insurance and legitimisation of insurance policies in electronic format, including in relation to both compulsory and volunteer insurance. With online insurance coming…

ASTANA – Turkestan, an ancient city in southern Kazakhstan near the Syr Darya River, boasts more than 1,500 years of rich history and numerous cultural and sacred sites preserved to this day. Located approximately 862 kilometres from Almaty and 168 kilometres from Shymkent, Turkestan is a great destination to immerse in the authentic and vibrant…

ASTANA – The Kazakh government updated the country’s business development road map devised to ensure sustainable and balanced growth in regional entrepreneurship, support existing businesses and create jobs. Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov reported the strategic changes needed to become a national programme during the Aug. 14 government meeting. The road map works across…

ASTANA – The Kazakh tenge continued to lose its value against U.S. dollar as it hit its all-time low Aug. 13, valuing 363.15 per $1. That number represented a 1.8 percent decrease overnight. Kazakh National Bank cited geopolitical tensions and U.S. protectionist policies and sanctions levied on neighbouring Russia as well as China and Turkey…

ASTANA – The Kazakh capital hosted Urban Street Art Fest July 16-30, bringing street artists to paint the façades of houses. Eight murals, two of which are still in process, transformed the city landscape to reflect national themes. The festival is a continuation of a pilot project run by the city’s Saryarka district Akimat (administration)…

ASTANA – Kazakh police have confirmed two men have been detained on suspicion of killing Kazakh figure skater and Olympic bronze medallist Denis Ten July 19 and that both men have confessed. Denis Ten died July 19 at the age of 25 after being stabbed in his thigh after he caught two men trying to…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is home to people of different religions and confessions, including the Jewish community. In a recent interview with The Astana Times, Chief Rabbi Yeshaya E. Cohen discussed the history of Jews in Kazakhstan, the country’s religious tolerance model and Jewish values. The Jewish community, with its long history in Kazakhstan, is prospering,…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Iran have enjoyed 25 years of dynamically developing bilateral relations. Iranian Cultural Centre Head Masoud Sheikh Zeineddin recently commended the current cultural ties between the countries and believes their development has potential. The centre was one of the first in Kazakhstan after the country gained independence. “The Iranian Embassy opened in…

ASTANA – Astana residents are able to earn cash for bringing their waste to one of nine waste collection points, reported the Astana Akimat (city administration) press service. Astana Clean Time company has been running the Zhasyl Tandau (green choice in Kazakh) initiative since the beginning of this year. The Kazakh capital produces approximately 300,000…

ASTANA – The average inflation rate in Kazakhstan for the first half of 2018 was 6.4 percent, down from 7.7 percent in the same period the previous year, reported energyprom.kz. Prices for food products grew 5.2 percent during the first half of this year, in contrast to the growth of 9.6 percent last year. Non-food…

ASTANA – Kazakh National Bank and Uzbek Central Bank signed July 10 an agreement to exchange information in the banking sector that will allow Kazakh banks to open subsidiaries and offices in Uzbekistan, said Kazakh National Bank Chair Daniyar Akishev at a press conference following the signing of the agreement. Kazakh banks, however, need to…

ASTANA – “Party’s Over,” the first feature film by French director and screenwriter Marie Garel-Weiss, won the grand prix of the July 1-7 Eurasia Film Festival in Astana. Established in 1998, the Eurasia Film Festival is the largest film festival in Central Asia. The festival is accredited by the International Federation of Producers’ Associations and…

ASTANA – The share of gold reserves in the Kazakh foreign reserves portfolio grew 3.3 percent reaching $31.2 billion as of the end of May over the same period in 2017, reported finprom.kz. Last year, the figure was $29.7 billion. The increasing volume of gold reserves is underpinned by the rising price of gold reserves…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s ambitious project to establish a financial services centre in Astana is now real, as the country launched July 5 the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The new financial centre, in a new part of Astana where the city hosted EXPO 2017, is set to offer financial services, including in financial technologies, Islamic…

ASTANA – Astana Finance Days, a series of forums focusing on finance and markets, took place July 3-5 in Astana ahead of the official presentation of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) that took place July 5. The Astana Finance Days gathered more than 150 speakers and 2,500 participants in the Kazakh capital for eight…

ASTANA – Kazakh regions abound in adventure and tourism opportunities and Campit, a group promoting hiking and excursion tours, gives locals and visitors a chance to discover Almaty’s natural beauty and magnificent landscapes in the foothills of the Zailiysky Alatau mountains. Yerzhan Aldabergenov, Sultan Kusherbayev and Denis Lukyanchuk founded Campit in 2015. In addition to…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan celebrated Dombyra Day July 1 for the first time ever commemorating its national musical instrument, the dombyra. The dombyra is a double-string lute instrument and the oldest Kazakh folk instrument.  Central to the history of Kazakh people, the dombyra was an integral part of nomad life accompanying nomadic tribes traversing the steppes…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan offers a myriad of unique places to enjoy breath-taking scenery and nature and the Zerenda resort area is one of them. Zerenda is located 300 kilometres from Astana and is part of the Kokshetau National Park along with Shalkar, Imantau and Saumalkol lakes. It offers blue lakes and crystal-clear springs, pine forests,…

ASTANA – The number of Kazakh citizens diagnosed with cancer increased 9.5 percent in 10 years, while mortality rate from the disease declined by 28.5 percent, said Minister of Healthcare Yelzhan Birtanov in a June 25 report. The nation’s cancer rate is currently estimated at 199.1 per 100,000 people. “Based on the results of 2017,…

ASTANA – The capital’s population agglomeration has reached 1.189 million and officials expect a 33-percent demographic growth to 1.6 million by 2030, reported Kazakh First Vice Minister of National Economy Ruslan Dalenov during the June 26 government meeting. Developing the areas around the city, home to 1.041 million people, is part of the government effort…

ASTANA – Kazmunaygas (KMG) International, part of the Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company Kazmunaygas, showed 12 percent growth in operating profits in the first quarter of 2018 over 2017. The company’s operating profits reached $47 million and net profits reached $8.5 million in the first three months of 2018. Exports reached 1.3 million tonnes.…